Heat Shortens Ottawa Marathon Course For Some

Elites race some of Ottawa’s best times ever; 5 qualify for Rio Olympic Games

May 29, 2016– OTTAWA – Hot and humid temperatures forced a detour for some runners today at the 2016 Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon.

Shortly
after 11 a.m. at around the 4-hour mark of the race, officials made a
weather-based decision to close a roughly 10 kilometre stretch of the
marathon course to remaining runners returning to Ottawa from Gatineau
via the Alexandra Bridge. At their pace this meant about 1 ¼ hours less
time on the roads at what would be the hottest point in the day, with
expected humidex readings as high as 40 degrees C.

It
was a different story in the earlier part of the day, where spectators
witnessed an Ethiopian sweep in both the men’s and women’s categories.

Hot
weather conditions didn’t do much to slow down the frontrunners and Rio
Olympic Games hopefuls, who delivered some of the marathon’s strongest
performances ever. Ottawa was a preferred destination for many
elite-level athletes looking to secure an Olympics berth. Even in
warmer than usual weather, five racers made the grade today.

Frontrunner
Dino Sefir, 28, crossed the finish line in 2:08:14, nearly two full
minutes ahead of fellow Ethiopian Shura Kitata, 19, who ran 2:10:04.
Kenyan Dominic Ondoro rounded out the top three with a time of 2:11:39.

All
three of the top female finishers this year were Ethiopians. Koren
Jelela, 29, ran 2:27:06. She beat last year’s winner, 32-year-old Aberu
Mekuria, who came in at 2:29:51. Third place finisher was Sechale
Dalasa, 24, with a time of 2:32:46.

Top
Canadian woman was Tarah Korir, 29, with a time of 2:35:46. Korir was
paced by her husband Wesley Korir, former Boston and Chicago marathon
winner and no stranger to Ottawa’s marathon course. She was followed by
Neasa Coll, 33, from Vancouver with a time of 2:46:16 and Brittany
Moran, 28, from Etobicoke with 2:48:35.

Top
Canadian man this year was Kip Kangogo, 36, from Lethbridge, who ran
2:21:23. John Parrott, 29, from Guelph, Ontario and Aaron Cooper, 30,
from Camlachie, Ontario came in second and third, with times of 2:26:10
and 2:28:12 respectively.

“We
made today’s decision to reroute some of our marathoners with their
health and safety in mind. We closely monitored weather conditions and
the capacity of our medical services. It was always one of the options
when weather forecasts became an issue a few days ago.”

John Halvorsen, President and Race Director, Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

“This
year’s marathon performances by both men and women elites were really
impressive, with times as strong as in years when hot weather
conditions weren’t an issue. Dino Sefir’s time was exactly the same as
last year’s winning time – the third best time ever for our marathon
event. It was a highly competitive field and a great day for Rio
qualifiers.”

Manny Rodrigues, Elite Athlete Coordinator, Run Ottawa

Credit: PhotoRun

About the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

The 2016 Tamarack Ottawa
Race Weekend is welcoming 47,000 participants in six races, including
the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, the Scotiabank Half-Marathon, the
Ottawa 10K, the HTG Sports 5K, the 2K and Scotiabank Kids Marathon. The
Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is one of only two running events in the
world to host two IAAF Gold Label races – the Ottawa 10K and the
Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon. The 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will
take place on May 27-28, 2017. Visit us at www.runottawa.ca